System and method of assisted or automated grain unload synchronization

ABSTRACT

A system includes an agricultural harvester with an electromagnetic detecting and ranging module and a camera for capturing images of an area within a field of view of the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module. One or more computing devices detect the presence of an object using data from the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module, use image data from the camera to determine whether the object is a receiving vehicle and, if the object is a receiving vehicle, generate automated navigation data to automatically control operation of at least one of the agricultural harvester and the receiving vehicle to align an unload conveyor of the agricultural harvester with a grain bin of the receiving vehicle.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods forassisted or automatic synchronization of agricultural machineoperations. More particularly, embodiments of the present inventionrelate to systems and methods for assisted or automatic synchronizationof machine movement during transfer of crop material from one machine toanother.

BACKGROUND

Combine harvesters are used in agricultural production to cut or pick upcrops such as wheat, corn, beans and milo from a field and process thecrop to remove grain from stalks, leaves and other material other thangrain (MOG). Processing the crop involves gathering the crop into a cropprocessor, threshing the crop to loosen the grain from the MOG,separating the grain from the MOG and cleaning the grain. The combineharvester stores the clean grain in a clean grain tank and dischargesthe MOG from the harvester onto the field. The cleaned grain remains inthe clean grain tank until it is transferred out of the tank through anunload conveyor into a receiving vehicle, such as a grain truck or agrain wagon pulled by a tractor.

To avoid frequent stops during a harvesting operation it is common tounload the grain from a harvester while the combine harvester is inmotion harvesting crop. Unloading the harvester while it is in motionrequires a receiving vehicle to drive alongside the combine harvesterduring the unload operation. This requires the operator driving thereceiving vehicle to align a grain bin of the receiving vehicle with thespout of an unload conveyor of the combine for the duration of theunload operation. Aligning the two vehicles in this manner is laboriousfor the operator of the receiving vehicle and, in some situations, canbe particularly challenging. Some circumstances may limit the operator'svisibility, for example, such as where there is excessive dust in theair or at nighttime. Furthermore, if the receiving vehicle has a largeor elongated grain bin, such as a large grain cart or a grain truck, itis desirable to shift the position of the grain bin relative to thespout during the unload operation to evenly fill the grain bin and avoidspilling grain.

Forage harvesters also process crop but function differently fromcombine harvesters. Rather than separating grain from MOG, forageharvesters chop the entire plant—including grain and MOG—into smallpieces for storage and feeding to livestock. Forage harvesters do notstore the processed crop onboard the harvester during the harvestoperation, but rather transfer the processed crop to a receiving vehicleby blowing the crop material through a discharge chute to the receivingvehicle, such as a silage wagon pulled by a tractor, without storing iton the harvester. Thus, a receiving vehicle must closely follow theforage harvester during the entire harvester operation. This presentssimilar challenges to those discussed above in relation to the combineharvester.

The above section provides background information related to the presentdisclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

SUMMARY

A system according to a first embodiment of the invention comprises anagricultural harvester including a crop processor for reducing cropmaterial to processed crop, an unload conveyor for transferring a streamof processed crop out of the agricultural harvester, an electromagneticdetecting and ranging module for detecting the location of an objectrelative to the agricultural harvester, and a camera for capturingimages of an area within a field of view of the electromagneticdetecting and ranging module and generating image data. One or morecomputing devices are configured for receiving first data from theelectromagnetic detecting and ranging module, the first data indicatingthe location of an object relative to the agricultural harvester,receiving image data from the camera, using the image data to determinewhether the object is a receiving vehicle, and if the object is areceiving vehicle, generating automated navigation data based on thefirst data and the image data, the automated navigation data toautomatically control operation of at least one of the agriculturalharvester and the receiving vehicle to align the unload conveyor with agrain bin of the receiving vehicle.

A method according to another embodiment of the invention comprisesdetecting a location of an object relative to an agricultural harvesterusing an electromagnetic detecting and ranging module on theagricultural harvester; capturing images of an area within a field ofview of the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module using a cameraon the agricultural harvester and generating image data; receiving,using one or more computing devices, first data from the electromagneticdetecting and ranging module, the first data indicating the location ofan object relative to the agricultural harvester; receiving, using theone or more computing devices, image data from the camera; processing,using the one or more computing devices, the image data to determinewhether the object is a receiving vehicle; and if the object is areceiving vehicle generating, using the one or more computing devices,automated navigation data based on the first data and the image data,the automated navigation data to automatically control operation of atleast one of the agricultural harvester and the receiving vehicle toalign the unload conveyor with a grain bin of the receiving vehicle.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described in the detailed descriptionbelow. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspectsand advantages of the present invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanyingdrawing figures.

DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below withreference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an agricultural harvester constructed in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic system of the agriculturalharvester of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is illustrates the agricultural harvester of FIG. 1 and areceiving vehicle, with the agricultural harvester in position totransfer grain to the receiving vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the agricultural harvester and receivingvehicle of FIG. 3 illustrating a scan area of a first electromagneticdetecting and ranging module on the agricultural harvester.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the agricultural harvester of FIG. 1illustrating data points collected by the first electromagneticdetecting and ranging module.

FIG. 6 illustrates movement of the agricultural harvester relative tothe receiving vehicle during a process of collecting data from theelectromagnetic detecting and ranging sensor.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of certain components of a camera used on theharvester of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the agricultural harvester and receivingvehicle of FIG. 3 illustrating a field of view of the camera of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a depiction of an image captured by the camera of FIG. 7 whenmounted the harvester of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment wherein the agriculturalharvester shares data wirelessly with the receiving vehicle and anotherembodiment wherein the agricultural harvester shares data wirelesslywith the receiving vehicle and a portable electronic device.

FIG. 11 illustrates a first graphical user interface including agraphical representation of the relative positions of the agriculturalharvester and the receiving vehicle.

FIG. 12 illustrates a second graphical user interface including agraphical representation of the relative positions of the agriculturalharvester and the receiving vehicle.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the agricultural harvester andreceiving vehicle of FIG. 3 illustrating a scan area of an alternativeembodiment of the first electromagnetic detecting and ranging module onthe agricultural harvester.

FIG. 14 illustrates data points collected by the electromagneticdetecting and ranging module of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is an agricultural harvester constructed in accordance withanother embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the agricultural harvester andreceiving vehicle of FIG. 3 illustrating a scan area of a secondelectromagnetic detecting and ranging module on the agriculturalharvester.

FIG. 17 illustrates data points collected by the second electromagneticdetecting and ranging sensor when placed over an empty receivingvehicle.

FIG. 18 illustrates data points collected by the second electromagneticdetecting and ranging sensor when placed over a partially filledreceiving vehicle.

FIG. 19 illustrates a graphical user interface including a graphicalrepresentation of the relative positions of the agricultural harvesterand the receiving vehicle and a fill level and distribution of contentsof the receiving vehicle.

FIG. 20 is another agricultural harvester constructed according toembodiments of the invention in the form of a forage harvester.

FIG. 21 illustrates the agricultural harvester of FIG. 20 harvestingcrop and transferring a stream of processed crop into a receivingvehicle.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of certain components of a portableelectronic device.

The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specificembodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the invention.

DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of embodiments of the inventionreferences the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are intended todescribe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable thoseskilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can beutilized and changes can be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the claims. The followingdescription is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. Further,it will be appreciated that the claims are not necessarily limited tothe particular embodiments set out in this description.

In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or“embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to areincluded in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separatereferences to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” inthis description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and arealso not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. Forexample, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment mayalso be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included.Thus, the present technology can include a variety of combinationsand/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

When elements or components are referred to herein as being “connected”or “coupled,” the elements or components may be directly connected orcoupled together or one or more intervening elements or components mayalso be present. In contrast, when elements or components are referredto as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled,” there are nointervening elements or components present.

Given the challenges of synchronizing operation of harvesters andreceiving vehicles during unload operations it is desirable to assistmachine operators in manually controlling the machines or to fullyautomate movement of at least one of the harvester and the receivingvehicle to maintain the desired relative positions of the two vehicles.Assisting operation and fully automating movement of at least one of themachines in this way requires continuously generating position data, inreal time or nearly in real time, indicating the relative positions ofthe machines. Generating and communicating position data presentsvarious technical challenges that make it difficult to reliably acquireaccurate position data. During harvest operations, for example, themachines operate in remote locations where data communications withexternal networks, such as the cellular communications network, areoften limited or nonexistent; mountains or trees may limit the number ofreliable GNSS satellite signals the machines can receive; harvestingenvironments are often dusty which can interfere with the operation ofsome types of sensors (such as optical sensors); harvesting operationsmay be performed at various times throughout the day (and even atnighttime) that present different and sometimes challenging ambientlight situations that can limit the effectiveness of optical sensors;and harvesting operations may involve multiple harvesters and multiplereceiving vehicles, wherein each harvester works with multiple receivingvehicles. Various embodiments of the present invention solve theproblems associated with detecting the relative positions of theharvesters and receiving vehicles during unload operations and provideassisted or fully automated operation of at least one of the machines tosynchronize movement during unload operations.

A system according to a first embodiment of the invention comprises anagricultural harvester, one or more computing devices and an electronicdevice with a graphical user interface. The agricultural harvesterincludes a crop processor for reducing crop material to processed crop,an unload conveyor for transferring processed crop out of theagricultural harvester, an electromagnetic detecting and ranging modulefor detecting a location of an object relative to the agriculturalharvester, and a camera for capturing images of an area within a fieldof view of the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module andgenerating image data.

The one or more computing devices are configured for receiving firstdata from the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module, the firstdata indicating the location of the object relative to the agriculturalharvester, receiving the image data from the camera, and using the imagedata to determine whether the object is a receiving vehicle. Theelectronic device includes a graphical user interface and is configuredto receive the first data and the image data from the agriculturalharvester, use the first data and the image data to generate a graphicalrepresentation illustrating the relative positions of the unloadconveyor and the grain bin, and present the graphical representation onthe graphical user interface.

Turning now to the drawing figures, and initially FIGS. 1-3, anagricultural harvester 10 constructed in accordance with the firstembodiment is illustrated. The harvester 10 is a combine harvester thatcuts or picks up crop from a field, threshes the crop to loosen thegrain from material other than grain (MOG), separates the grain from theMOG, cleans the grain, stores the clean grain in a clean grain tank andtransfers the clean grain out of the clean grain tank to a receivingvehicle or other receptacle. The illustrated harvester 10 includes apair of front wheels 12 and a pair of rear wheels 14 that support theharvester 10 on a ground surface, propel it along the ground surface andprovide steering. A header 16 cuts crop standing in a field (or picks upcrop that was previous cut) as the harvester 10 moves through the fieldand gathers the cut crop to be fed to a processor housed within a body18 of the harvester 10.

The processor threshes the grain, separates the grain from the MOG,cleans the grain and stores the clean grain in a clean grain tank 20.Thus, the processor reduces crop material (plants or portions of plantscut or picked up from the field) to processed crop (grain). An unloadconveyor 22 transfers grain from the clean grain tank 20 to a receivingvehicle or other receptacle using one or more augers, belts or similarmechanisms to move grain out of the clean grain tank 20, through theunload conveyor 22 and out a spout 24 positioned at an end of the unloadconveyor 22 distal the body 18 of the harvester 10. The unload conveyor22 is illustrated in a stowed position in FIG. 1 used when the harvester10 is not transferring grain out of the grain tank 20. The unloadconveyor 22 is moveable between the stowed position and a deployedposition, illustrated in FIG. 3, used to transfer grain from the graintank 20 to a receiving vehicle or other receptacle. The receivingvehicle illustrated in FIG. 3 is a tractor 34 and grain cart 36combination. The grain cart 36 includes a grain bin 38 for holding croptransferred out of the harvester 10. When the unload conveyor 22 is inthe deployed position it is generally perpendicular to a longitudinalaxis of the harvester 10, the longitudinal axis being parallel with line40 in FIG. 3. When the unload conveyor 22 is in the fully stowedposition (FIG. 1) it is generally parallel with the longitudinal axis ofthe harvester.

An operator cabin 26 includes a seat and a user interface for enablingan operator to control various aspects of the harvester 10. The userinterface includes mechanical components, electronic components, or bothsuch as, for example, knobs, switches, levers, buttons, dials as well aselectronic touchscreen displays that both present information to theoperator in graphical form and receive information from the operator.The use interface is described further below as part of the electronicsystem 42 of the harvester 10. The harvester 10 includes anelectromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28 mounted on an exteriorsurface 30 of the combine body 18 and a camera 32 also mounted on theexterior surface 30. The electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28is configured and positioned for detecting the location of a receivingvehicle relative to the agricultural harvester. The camera 32 ispositioned so that a field of view of the camera 32 at least partiallyoverlaps a field of view of the module 32. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 1, the module 28 and the camera 32 are both mounted on theexterior surface 30 (being on the same side of the harvester 10 as theunload conveyor 22), between one meter and four meters from the ground,and proximate one another. In another embodiment of the invention, themodule 28 and the camera 32 are both mounted on the surface 30 betweenone and one-half meters and three meters from the ground. It will beappreciated that the precise location of the module 28 and the camera 32is not critical and that the module 28 and the camera 32 may be place inother, equally-preferred locations. By way of example, the module 28,the camera 32, or both may be placed on top of the operator cabin 26.

The harvester 10 includes an electronic system 42 illustrated in FIG. 2.The system 42 broadly includes a controller 44, a position determiningdevice 46, a user interface 48, one or more sensors 50, one or moreactuators 52, one or more storage components 54, one or more input/outports 56, a communications gateway 58, the electromagnetic detecting andranging module 28 and the camera 32.

The position determining device 46 includes a global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) receiver, such as a device configured to receivesignals from one or more positioning systems such as the United States'global positioning system (GPS), the European GALILEO system and/or theRussian GLONASS system, and to determine a location of the machine usingthe received signals. The user interface 48 includes components forreceiving information, instructions or other input from a user and mayinclude buttons, switches, dials, and microphones, as well as componentsfor presenting information or data to users, such as displays,light-emitting diodes, audio speakers and so forth. The user interface48 may include one or more touchscreen displays capable of presentingvisual representations of information or data and receiving instructionsor input from the user via a single display surface.

The sensors 50 may be associated with any of various components orfunctions of the harvester 10 including, for example, various elementsof the engine, transmission(s), and hydraulic and electrical systems.One or more of the sensors 50 may be configured and placed to detectenvironmental or ambient conditions in, around or near the harvester 10.Such environmental or ambient conditions may include temperature,humidity, wind speed and wind direction. The actuators 52 are configuredand placed to drive certain functions of the harvester 10 including, forexample, moving the unload conveyor 22 between the stowed and deployedpositions, driving an auger or belt associated with the unload conveyor22 and steering the rear wheels 14. The actuators 52 may take virtuallyany form but are generally configured to receive control signals orinstructions from the controller 44 (or other component of the system42) and to generate a mechanical movement or action in response to thecontrol signals or instructions. By way of example, the sensors 50 andactuators 52 may be used in automated steering of the harvester 10wherein the sensors 50 detect a current position or state of the steeredwheels 14 and the actuators 52 drive steering action of the wheels 14.In another example, the sensors 50 collect data relating to theoperation of the harvester 10 and store the data in the storagecomponent 54, communicate the data to a remote computing device via thecommunications gateway 58, or both.

The controller 44 is a computing device and includes one or moreintegrated circuits programmed or configured to implement the functionsdescribed herein and associated with the harvester 10. By way of examplethe controller 44 may be a digital controller and may include one ormore general purpose microprocessors or microcontrollers, programmablelogic devices, application specific integrated circuits or othercomputing devices. The controller 44 may include multiple computingcomponents or devices, such as electronic control units, placed invarious different locations on the harvester 10, and may include one ormore computing devices connected to the system 42 through the I/O ports56. The controller 44 may also include one or more discrete and/oranalog circuit components operating in conjunction with the one or moreintegrated circuits or computing components. Furthermore, the controller44 may include or have access to one or more memory elements operable tostore executable instructions, data, or both. The storage component 54stores data and preferably includes a non-volatile storage medium suchas solid state, optic or magnetic technology. The communications gateway58 includes one or more wireless transceivers configured to communicateaccording to one or more wireless communications protocols or standards,such as one or more of protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family ofstandards (“Wi-Fi”), the Bluetooth wireless communications standard, a433 MHz wireless communications protocol or a protocol for communicatingover a cellular telephone network. Alternatively or additionally, thecommunications gateway 58 may include one or more wireless transceiversconfigured to communicate according to one or more proprietary ornon-standardized wireless communication technologies or protocols, suchas proprietary wireless communications protocols using 2.4 GHz or 5 GHzradio signals. Thus, the communications gateway 58 enables wirelesscommunications with other machines such as other harvesters or tractors,with external devices such as laptop or tablet computers or smartphones,and with external communications networks such as a cellular telephonenetwork or Wi-Fi network.

It will be appreciated that, for simplicity, certain elements andcomponents of the system 42 have been omitted from the presentdiscussion and from the diagram illustrated in FIG. 2. A power source orpower connector is also associated with the system 42, for example, butis conventional in nature and, therefore, is not discussed herein.

In the illustrated embodiment all of the components of the system 42 arecontained on or in the harvester 10. The present invention is not solimited, however, and in other embodiments one or more of the componentsof the system 42 may be external to the harvester 10. In someembodiments, for example, some of the components of the system 42 arecontained on or in the harvester 10 while other components of the systemare contained on or in an implement associated with the harvester 10. Inthose embodiments, the components associated with the harvester 10 andthe components associated with the implement may communicate via wiredor wireless communications according to a local area network such as,for example, a controller area network. The system may be part of acommunications and control system conforming to the ISO 11783 (alsoreferred to as “ISOBUS”) standard. In some embodiments, one or morecomponents of the system 42 may be located separately or remotely fromthe harvester 10 and any implements associated with the harvester 10. Inthose embodiments, the system 42 may include wireless communicationscomponents (e.g., the gateway 58) for enabling the harvester 10 tocommunicate with another machine or a remote computer, computer networkor system. It may be desirable, for example, to use one or morecomputing devices external to the harvester 10 to determine, or assistin determining, the location of a receiving vehicle, a fill level of thereceiving vehicle and/or the distribution of processed crop in thereceiving vehicle, as explained below.

In the first embodiment the one or more computing devices has referenceto the controller 44, including multiple devices that, taken together,may constitute the controller 44 as explained above. It will beappreciated, though, that in other embodiments the one or more computingdevices may be separate from, but in communication with, the harvester10. In those embodiments the one or more computing devices may includecomputing devices associated with a portable electronic device, such asa laptop computer, a tablet computer or a smartphone, may includecomputing devices embedded in another agricultural machine, such as areceiving vehicle, or both. Furthermore, in some embodiments the one ormore computing devices may include computing devices from multiplemachines or devices, such as a computing device on the harvester 10 anda computing device on or in a receiving vehicle. By way of example, acomputing device on the harvester 10 may receive and process data fromthe modules 28 and 32 to generate location information and maycommunicate the location information to the tractor 34 via thecommunications gateway 58, wherein another computing device on thetractor 34 generates automated guidance data for guiding the tractor 34or generates graphic data for presentation on a user interface in thetractor 34. In that scenario the one or more computing devices compriseboth the computing device on the harvester 10 and the computing deviceon the tractor 34.

The tractor 34 also includes an electronic system similar to the system42 of the harvester 10, except that the electronic system of the tractor34 does not include electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28 orthe camera 32. The electronic system of the tractor 34 broadly includesa controller, a position determining device, a user interface, one ormore sensors, one or more actuators, one or more storage components, oneor more input/out ports a communications gateway similar or identical tothose described above as part of the system 42.

The electromagnetic detecting and ranging modules 28 uses reflectedelectromagnet waves to generate a digital representation of objectswithin a field of view of the module 28. More particularly, the module28 includes an emitter for emitting electromagnetic waves and a sensorfor detecting reflected waves. Data generated by the sensor includessuch information as an angle and a distance for each data point thatindicate a point in space where the wave encountered and reflected offof an object. Thus, the digital representation generated by the module28 includes distances to and relative locations of objects and surfaceswithin the field of view. Technologies that may be used in the module 28include LiDAR and RADAR.

Light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) is a method for measuring distances(ranging) by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring thereflection with a sensor. Differences in laser return times andwavelengths can then be used to make digital three-dimensional ortwo-dimensional representations of the area scanned. LiDAR may useultraviolet, visible, or near infrared light to image objects and cantarget a wide range of materials, including metallic and non-metallicobjects.

Radio detecting and ranging (RADAR) is a detection system that usesradio waves to determine the range, angle, and/or velocity of objects. ARADAR system includes a transmitter producing electromagnetic waves inthe radio or microwave domains, a transmitting antenna, a receivingantenna (often the same antenna is used for transmitting and receiving)and a receiver and processor to determine properties of the object(s)within the scan zone of the system. Radio waves (pulsed or continuous)from the transmitter reflect off the object and return to the receiver,giving information about the object's location, direction of travel andspeed.

The electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28 collects data thatdefines a digital representation of the area within the field of view ofthe module 28 and communicates that data to the controller 44. The datacollected by the module 28 includes location information for each of aplurality of points making up a point cloud. The location information isrelative to the module 28 or 32 generating the data and may include aset of two-dimensional Cartesian coordinates, such as X and Ycoordinates of the point relative to the module 28 or 32; a set ofthree-dimensional Cartesian coordinates such as X, Y and Z coordinates;a set of polar coordinates such as a radial coordinate (r) indicating adistance from the module 28 or 32 and an angular coordinate (θ)indicating an angle from a reference direction; a set of sphericalcoordinates such as a radial coordinate (r) indicating a distance of thepoint from the module 28 or 32, a polar angle coordinate (θ) measuredfrom a fixed zenith direction, and an azimuthal angle coordinate (φ) ofits orthogonal projection on a reference plane that passes through theorigin and is orthogonal to the zenith, measured from a fixed referencedirection on that plane; or a set of cylindrical coordinates such as adistance (r) to the point from a reference axis (typically correspondingto a location of the module 28 or 32), a direction (φ) from thereference axis, and a distance (Z) from a reference plane that isperpendicular to the reference axis.

The electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28 is positioned andconfigured for detecting the location of a receiving vehicle relative tothe agricultural harvester 10. The electromagnetic detecting and rangingmodule 28 is located on the exterior side surface 30 of the body 18 ofthe harvester 10. It includes a three-dimensional light detecting andranging (LiDAR) scanner positioned to scan an area extending outwardlyfrom the side surface 30 and with a center of the scan area beingperpendicular or approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe harvester 10. This corresponds to an area in which a receivingvehicle is located during crop transfer operations. FIG. 4 illustrates ascan area 60 of the module 28 with the tractor 34 and the grain cart 36within the scan area 60. As explained above, the module 28 generates aplurality of data points constituting a point cloud representative ofpoints on surfaces within the scan area 60, including points on surfacesof the grain cart 36, the tractor 34 pulling the grain cart 36, theground and other objects within the scan area 60.

A portion of a point cloud 62 is depicted in FIG. 5 illustrating some ofthe data points generated by the module 28 and corresponding to thegrain cart 36 and the tractor 34. The one or more computing devicesreceive the data generated by the module 28 and use the data to detectthe presence of the grain cart 36 (or other receiving vehicle) and todetermine the location of the grain cart 36 relative to the harvester10. To detect the presence of the grain cart 36 the one or morecomputing devices process the data received from the module 28 todetermine whether one or more features or characteristics of the graincart 36 are present in the data. The point cloud 62 depicted in FIG. 5,for example, illustrates various features of the grain cart 36 that maybe reflected in the data collected by the module 28. A pattern 64 in thepoint cloud 62 corresponding to an exterior side surface of the graincart 36 is visible including a front edge, a top edge, a rear edge and abottom edge of the surface 64. The one or more computing devices processthe data to identify the presence of a surface that approximatelymatches the anticipated shape, size, angle and/or location of a surfaceof the grain cart 36. It does this by looking for a pattern in the pointcloud corresponding to a flat surface. Once it detects a flat surface itprocesses the data to identify additional features or patterns thatcorrespond to a receiving vehicle, such as a total length of thesurface, a total height of the surface, a particular length-to-heightratio of the surface or another pattern indicating another feature orcharacteristic of the grain cart such as a circular pattern indicating awheel. The one or more computing devices may use preexisting data setscorresponding to the particular receiving vehicle to identify patternsfrom the data acquired by the electromagnetic detecting and rangingmodule 28, as explained below. The one or more computing devices use thedata from the module 28 to determine the orientation and the dimensionsof the receiving vehicle. Using data from the point cloud 62, forexample, the one or more computing devices determine whether the surfacecorresponding to the size of the grain cart 36 is parallel with theharvester 10 (that is, a front portion of the grain cart isapproximately the same distance from the module 28 as a rear portion),or whether a front portion of the grain cart 36 is further from orcloser to the module 28 than a rear portion of the grain cart 36. Theone or more computing devices can use the orientation of the grain cart36 to determine, for example, if the grain cart 36 is following parallelwith the harvester 10 or is separating from the harvester 10. The one ormore computing devices determine the dimensions (or approximatedimensions) of the grain cart 36 by identifying a front edge, rear edgeand top edge of the point cloud 62. The one or more computing devicesmay use the dimensions of the grain cart 36 in determining where thespout 24 of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges ofgrain bin 38 to accurately generate a graphical depiction of therelative positions of the unload conveyor 22 and the grain cart 36 andpresent the graphical depiction on a graphical user interface, asexplained below. In some embodiments, the one or more computing devicesuse the dimensions of the grain cart 36 to determine where the spout 24of the unload conveyor 22 is located relative to the edges of grain bin38 in automatically controlling grain transfer to only transfer grainfrom the harvester 10 to the grain cart 36 while the spout 24 is overthe grain bin 38.

Once the one or more computing devices have identified the patterns andfeatures in the point cloud sufficiently to determine that the object isthe grain cart 36, the one or more computing devices use data from themodule 28 to determine and track the location of the grain cart 36relative to the harvester 10. Tracking the location of the grain cart 36relative to the harvester 10 may involve determining two variables—thelateral distance of the grain cart 36 from the harvester 10 and thelongitudinal offset of the grain cart relative to the harvester 10.

Each of the data points making up the point cloud 62 includes a distancevalue indicating a distance from the module 28, therefore determiningthe lateral distance of the grain cart 36 from the harvester 10 involvesusing the distance values of the relevant points in the point cloud 62,such as the points defining the pattern 64 corresponding to the exteriorsurface of the grain cart 36. If the average distance of to the datapoints corresponding to the surface is six meters, for example, thelateral distance of the grain cart 36 from the harvester 10 is sixmeters.

To determine the longitudinal offset of the grain cart 36 from theharvester 10 the one or more computing devices determine the location ofone or more features of the grain cart 36 within the field of view ofthe module 28 and, in particular, whether the feature(s) is to the leftor to the right of a center of the scan area of the module 28. If thecenter of the exterior surface of the grain cart 36 is determined to beat the center of the field of view of the module 28, for example, thegrain cart 36 is determined to have a longitudinal offset of zero. Ifthe center of the exterior surface of the grain cart 36 is determined tobe ten degrees to the left of the center of the field of view, the graincart 36 has a negative longitudinal offset corresponding to a distancethat is determined using the lateral distance and the angle of tendegrees. If the center of the exterior surface of the grain cart 36 isdetermined to be ten degrees to the right of the center of the field ofview, the grain cart 36 has a positive longitudinal offset correspondingto a distance that is determined using the lateral distance and theangle of ten degrees.

The camera 32 is positioned and configured for capturing images ofobjects that are within the field of view of the module 28. The camera32 is located on the exterior side surface 30 of the body 18 of theharvester 10, as explained above, and has a field of view extendingoutwardly from the side surface 30 and with a center of the field ofview being perpendicular or approximately perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the harvester 10. This corresponds to an area inwhich a receiving vehicle is located during crop transfer operations.The field of view of the camera 32 at least partially overlaps the scanarea (field of view) of the module 28.

A diagram of certain components of the camera 32 is illustrated in FIG.7 and includes one or more lenses 66, an optional filter 68, a detector70, and processing circuitry 72. The one or more lenses collect anddirect light from a field of view 74 through the filter 68 to thedetector 70 and serve to focus and/or magnify images. The filter 68passes select spectral bands such as ultraviolet, infrared or otherbands. In some embodiments the camera 32 does not have a filter 68. Thedetector 70 is a digital image sensor that converts electromagneticenergy to an electric signal and employs image sensing technology suchas charge-coupled device (CCD) technology and/or complementary metaloxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The processing circuitry 72includes circuitry for amplifying and processing the electric signalgenerated by the detector 70 to generated image data, which his passedto the one or more computing devices such as the controller 44.

The field of view 74 of the camera 32 relative to the harvester 10 andthe grain cart is illustrated in FIG. 8 and at least partially overlapswith the field of view 60 of the module 28 (FIG. 8). The camera 32requires an external light source such as natural ambient light or anartificial light source such as a light mounted on the harvester 10 orthe receiving vehicle. The camera 32 or the harvester 10 may include adedicated light source that is configured and used specifically forcapturing images with the camera 32.

An exemplary image taken from the camera 32 is illustrated in FIG. 9 andincludes the tractor 34 and grain cart 36. The unload conveyor 22 andspout 24 are also visible in the image. Image data generated by thecamera 32 is used by the one or more computing devices to determinewhether a receiving vehicle is present in the image. In the imageillustrated in FIG. 9 the grain cart 36 is visible so the one or morecomputing devices confirms the presence of the grain cart in the fieldof view of the module 28.

During a harvest operation, the one or more computing devicescontinuously or periodically receive data from the module 28 and thecamera 32, and use the data to detect the presence of the receivingvehicle and to determine the location of the receiving vehicle relativeto the harvester 10. In an exemplary scenario, the one or more computingdevices receives and processes data from the module 28 looking forpatterns in the data that reflect the presence of a large objectapproximately the size of the receiving vehicle. Once the one or morecomputing devices detect such a pattern it reviews image data capturedby the camera 32 to determine whether a receiving vehicle is within thefield of view of the module 28. If so, the one or more computing devicesuse the data generated by the module 28 to determine the location of thereceiving vehicle. In another exemplary scenario the one or morecomputing devices receives data from both the module 28 and the camera32 and processes data from both sources looking for patterns thatreflect the presence of a receiving vehicle. Once such a pattern isdetected from either source the one or more computing devices use datafrom the other source to confirm the presence of the receiving vehicle.

The one or more computing devices use the location of the receivingvehicle relative to the harvester 10 to generate a graphicrepresentation of at least portions of the harvester 10 and thereceiving vehicle that illustrate, in an intuitive way, the relativepositions of the unload conveyor 22 and the grain bin of the receivingvehicle. The graphic representation is presented on a graphical userinterface in the operator cabin of the tractor (or the harvester 10),typically located toward the front or side of the operator when he orshe is facing forward, thereby allowing the operator to see the positionof the grain bin relative to the unload auger and steer the tractor sothat the grain bin is located beneath the spout of the unload conveyor.This relieves the operator(s) of the need to try to look backward to seethe position of the unload conveyor while also watching the field aheadof the machine. The graphical representation has the further advantageof enabling the operator(s) to see the relative positions of themachines even in situations with limited visibility outside the operatorcabin.

The one or more computing devices may detect patterns in the datagenerated by the module 28 and by the camera 32 by comparing it withpreexisting data corresponding to the receiving vehicle. The preexistingdata is collected by the module 28 and camera 32 (or similar devices),or is generated by other sensors or a computer to simulate such data,and provides the one or more computing devices known data and imagepatterns corresponding to the receiving vehicle. During operation theone or more computing devices compare the data generated by the module28 with the preexisting data to identify such patterns as the exteriorside surface of the grain cart, edges of the grain cart, wheels of thegrain cart or features of the tractor such as the rear and front wheelsor an operator cabin. Similarly, during operation the one or morecomputing devices compare the image data generated by the camera 32 withthe preexisting data to identify preexisting image data that correspondsto the data generated by the camera 32.

The preexisting data may be provided by a machine manufacturer or may becaptured using the harvester 10 and the receiving vehicle. FIG. 6illustrates the position and movement of the harvester 10 relative to areceiving vehicle during a process of capturing image data using thecamera 32 and electromagnetic detecting and ranging data using themodule 28. The harvester 10 is positioned to the side of and behind thegrain cart 36 when data capture begins. The harvester 10 is graduallymoved forward relative to the grain cart 36 until it reaches a secondposition to the side of and in front of the grain cart 36. The module 28and camera 32 capture data during the operation and store the data foruse in pattern recognition. This process may be repeated multiple timeswith the receiving vehicle at different lateral distances from, anddifferent angles to, the harvester 10.

Data from the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28, from thecamera 32, or both may be used to detect the position of the unloadconveyor 22 and, in particular, whether the unload conveyor 22 is in adeployed position as illustrated in FIG. 3. To determine whether theunload conveyor 22 is in the deployed position, the one or morecomputing devices process the data to determine whether it includespatterns corresponding to the unload auger 22.

The one or more computing devices use the data generated by the module28 and the camera 32 to generate graphic data defining a graphicalrepresentation illustrating the relative positions of the unloadconveyor 22 and the grain bin 38. This graphical representation assistsan operator in manually guiding either the tractor 34 or the harvester10 to align the unload conveyor 22 with the grain bin 38.

The graphical representation may be presented on the user interface 48of the harvester 10, on a user interface of the tractor 34, on a userinterface of a portable electronic device such as a table computer or asmartphone, or on any combination thereof. As depicted in a firstdiagram of FIG. 10 the harvester 10 may be in wireless communicationwith the receiving vehicle wherein a computing device on the harvester10 generates and communicates the graphical representation to thereceiving vehicle as a wireless communication. The tractor includes anelectronic system similar to that of the harvester 10 and illustrated inFIG. 2, as explained above, including a wireless gateway, a controllerand a user interface. The harvester 10 communicates the graphic data viathe wireless gateway of the harvester 10 and the tractor receives thegraphic data via the wireless gateway of the tractor 34, wherein theuser interface on the tractor 34 generates the graphical representationfrom the graphic data and presents the graphical representation to theoperator on the user interface.

As depicted in a second diagram of FIG. 10 the harvester may be inwireless communication with the receiving vehicle and with a portableelectronic device 94 wherein a computing device on the harvester 10generates and communicates the graphical representation to the receivingvehicle, to the portable electronic device, or both as a wirelesscommunication. The portable electronic device 94 may be placed in theoperator cabin 26 of the harvester 10, in the operator cabin of thetractor 34, or another location that is not in the harvester 10 or inthe tractor 34. The portable electronic device 94 receives the graphicdata from the harvester 10 through a wireless transceiver on theportable electronic device.

The graphical representation is presented as part of a graphical userinterface on a portable electronic device in FIGS. 11 and 12 forillustration purposes, with the understanding that the graphicalrepresentation may be presented on a display that is part of a displayconsole in the receiving vehicle or in the harvester 10. The graphicalrepresentation of the grain cart 36, the harvester 10 and their relativepositions enables the operator of the tractor 34 to guide the tractor toa location relative to the harvester 10 where the grain bin 38 of thegrain cart 36 is properly aligned with the unload auger 22. The graincart 36 and the harvester 10 are depicted in plan view (that is, from aperspective directly above the machines and looking down) so that theoperator can clearly see from the graphic representation the relativepositions of the grain cart and the harvester 10.

FIG. 12 depicts an alternative implementation of the graphicalrepresentation similar to that of FIG. 11 wherein the depiction of thegrain cart and the harvester 10 includes concentric target lines 84around the graphical depiction of the spout of the unload conveyor 22 toassist the operator in aligning the unload conveyor 22 with the grainbin.

A second embodiment of the invention is identical to the firstembodiment described above, except that the location of the receivingvehicle relative to the harvester 10 is used to automatically guide theharvester 10, the tractor, or both to align the grain bin of thereceiving vehicle with the unload conveyor 22 during an unloadoperation.

A system according to the second embodiment of the invention comprisesan agricultural harvester including a crop processor for reducing cropmaterial to processed crop, an unload conveyor for transferring a streamof processed crop out of the agricultural harvester, an electromagneticdetecting and ranging module for detecting the location of an objectrelative to the agricultural harvester, and a camera for capturingimages of an area within a field of view of the electromagneticdetecting and ranging module and generating image data. The systemfurther comprises one or more computing devices for receiving first datafrom the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module, the first dataindicating the location of an object relative to the agriculturalharvester, receiving image data from the camera, using the image data todetermine whether the object is a receiving vehicle, and if the objectis a receiving vehicle, generating automated navigation data based onthe first data and the image data, the automated navigation data toautomatically control operation of at least one of the agriculturalharvester and the receiving vehicle to align the unload conveyor with agrain bin of the receiving vehicle.

Automated guidance of a machine involves generating or acquiring atarget travel path known as a wayline, determining a geographic locationof the machine, comparing the machine's geographic location to thelocation of the wayline and automatically steering the machine to travelalong the wayline. The wayline may be generated by an operator of themachine by, for example, designating a starting point and an endingpoint of the wayline or designing a start point and a direction oftravel. The wayline may also be stored and retrieved from a previousoperation, received from another agricultural machine or imported froman external computer device, such as an external computer running farmmanagement software that generates the wayline. The wayline isrepresented by two or more geographic locations or points known aswaypoints. The automated guidance system is part of the machine and isincluded in the electronic system described above. Automated guidancesoftware stored in the storage component, for example, enables thecontroller to determine or acquire the wayline, determine the machine'slocation using the position determining component, compare the machine'slocation with the location of the wayline, and automatically steer themachine using data from the one or more sensors to determine a steeringangle of the wheels and using the actuators to change the steering angleof the wheels, if necessary, to steer the machine to or along thewayline.

During operation the machine's geographic location is continuouslydetermined using a GNSS receiver, and the location of a navigation pointof the machine (for example, a point located between the rear wheels ofa tractor or between the front wheels of a harvester) is continuouslycompared with the location of the wayline. Steering of the machine isautomatically controlled so that the navigation point of the machinefollows the wayline.

The automated guidance system of the tractor 34 automatically aligns thegrain bin 38 of the grain cart 36 with the unload conveyor 22 bygenerating a wayline that corresponds to a path that will place thegrain bin 38 beneath the spout 24 of the unload conveyor 22. By way ofexample, the one or more computing devices may determine from the datagenerated by the modules 28 and the camera 32 that the lateral distanceof the grain cart 36 from the harvester 10 is seven meters. If thelateral distance required to align the grain bin 38 with the spout 24 issix meters, the automated guidance system of the tractor 34 generates awayline that is one meter closer to the harvester 10 and steers thetractor 34 to follow the wayline. Similarly, if the one or morecomputing devices determine that the lateral distance is four meters,the automated guidance system of the tractor 34 generates a wayline thatis two meters further away from the harvester 10 and steers the tractor34 to follow the wayline.

The automated guidance system further controls the propulsion of thetractor 34 to shift the tractor's position forward or rearward relativeto the harvester 10 to maintain a proper longitudinal position of thetractor 34 relative to the harvester 10 such that the grain cart 36presents a proper front to back position relative to the unload conveyor22. If the one or more computing devices determines that the grain cart36 has a negative longitudinal offset relative to the harvester 10 (inother words, the position of the grain cart 36 is behind a desireposition relative to the harvester 10) the automated guidance systemcauses the tractor 34 to speed up until it is at the desire position,then causes it to match the speed of the harvester 10. Similarly, if theone or more computing devices determines that the grain cart 36 has apositive longitudinal offset relative to the harvester 10 (in otherwords, the position of the receiving vehicle is ahead of a desireposition relative to the harvester 10) the automated guidance systemcauses the tractor 34 to slow down until it is at the desire position,then causes it to match the speed of the harvester 10.

A third embodiment of the invention is identical to either of the firstor second embodiments of the invention, describe above, except that theelectromagnetic detecting and ranging module 28 includes atwo-dimensional LiDAR sensor. In this embodiment of the invention thescan area 76 of the module 28 is planar, as illustrated in FIG. 13. Thisgenerates a data set 78 within the plan defined by the scan area 76, asillustrated in FIG. 14.

A fourth embodiment of the invention is identical to the first or secondembodiments, described above, except that the harvester 10 includes asecond electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 80 as illustrated inFIG. 15. The second electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 80 islocated at or near an end of the unload conveyor 22 corresponding to thespout 24 and distal the body 18 of the harvester 10. The module 80includes a two-dimensional light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) scannerpositioned to scan an area extending downwardly from the end of theunload conveyor 22 that is perpendicular or approximately perpendicularto a longitudinal axis of the unload conveyor 22. This scan areaincludes an area inside the grain bin 38 of the receiving vehicle whenthe grain bin 38 is positioned below the spout 24 of the unload conveyor22. FIG. 16 illustrates a scan area of the module 32 with a grain cartwithin the scan area.

The module 80 includes a two-dimensional light detecting and ranging(LiDAR) scanner that generates a plurality of data points within theplane corresponding to the scan area, each data point including adistance value corresponding to a distance from the module 32. As withthe data from the first module 28, the one or more computing devicesprocess the data from the module 80 to identify patterns. A series ofdata points generated by the module 80 when the grain bin of thereceiving vehicle is empty is illustrated in FIG. 17. A first pattern 82of the data points corresponds to an interior surface of a front wall ofthe grain bin, a second pattern 84 corresponds to an interior surface ofa floor of the grain bin and a third pattern 86 corresponds to aninterior surface of a rear wall of the grain bin. A series of datapoints generated by the module 80 when the grain bin is partially filledis illustrated in FIG. 18. In FIG. 18 the generally vertical patternsnear the front 88 and the near the rear 90 of the data set correspond tothe front and rear walls of the grain bin while the data points 92corresponding to the generally diagonal angled and curved patternsbetween the front and rear walls correspond to a top surface of aquantity of grain heaped in the grain bin.

The one or more computing devices use this data generated by the module80 to determine the fill level of the grain cart 36, the distribution ofgrain (or other processed crop material) within the grain cart 36, orboth. To determine the fill level of the grain cart 36 the one or morecomputing devices identify data points 92 corresponding to grain (versesdata points corresponding to walls or the floor of the grain bin),determine a fill height of each of the data points corresponding tograin, and then average the fill height of the data points correspondingto grain to generate an average fill level of the grain bin.

To identify data points corresponding to grain the one or more computingdevices may use patterns in the data, receiving vehicle locationinformation generated using data from the module 28, or both. The one ormore computing devices may use patterns in the data by identifyingpatterns corresponding to certain parts of the grain bin such as a frontwall (for example, pattern 72), rear wall (for example, pattern 86) andfloor (for example, pattern 84) or a combination of two or more of thesefeatures. In the collection of data illustrated in FIG. 17, for example,the walls and floor are identified from the data patterns 82, 84, 86 andit is determined that none of the data points correspond to grain. Inthe collection of data illustrated in FIG. 18, the front wall and therear wall are identified from the data patterns 88, 90. When the datapatterns detected in FIG. 18 are compared to a data patterncorresponding to an empty grain bin (FIG. 17) it is determined that mostof the data points between the front wall and the rear wall do not matchthe expected location and shape of a data pattern corresponding to thefloor and, therefore, correspond to grain. The one or more computingdevices then determine a fill height of each of the data pointscorresponding to grain, wherein the fill height is the distance of thedata point from the floor of the grain bin to the data point. The fillheight may be determined by comparing the location of the data point tothe anticipated location of the floor. In the illustrated data patterns,this may involve comparing the data points 92 to data points 84. Oncethe fill height is determined for all of the data points an average fillheight of all of the data points is determined and used as the overallgrain bin fill level, as stated above.

The one or more computing devices may also use receiving vehiclelocation information from the module 28 to determine or assist indetermining the fill level of the grain bin of the receiving vehicle. Ifthe location of the receiving vehicle relative to the harvester 10 isknown the vehicle's location relative to the unload conveyor may be usedto determine the height of the data points corresponding to grainrelative to the floor of the grain bin by comparing the location of thedata point to the location of the floor of the grain bin determinedusing the location of the receiving vehicle.

Additionally or alternatively the one or more computing devicesdetermine a distribution of grain in the grain bin. Using the datapattern illustrated in FIG. 18, for example, the fill height of eachdata point 92 is determined as explained above and a fill height valueand longitudinal (distance from the rear wall or from the front wall) isstored for each data point. That information may then be used by the oneor more computing devices to depict a fill level at various locations inthe grain bin in a graphical user interface, as discussed below.

While the description above describes a technique of determining thefill level and distribution of crop material in the receiving vehicle bycomparing differences between a measured surface of the crop with ananticipated floor of the receiving vehicle, it will be appreciated thatother techniques may be used to determine the fill level and thedistribution. The one or more computers may compare the measured surfaceof crop material with a top of the receiving vehicle, for example. Thetop of the receiving vehicle may be determined using the data 62generated by the module 28, using the data 72, 74 generated by themodule 32, using data provided by an operator or manufacturer of thegrain cart 36, or a combination thereof.

The one or more computing devices may detect patterns in the datagenerated by the module 80 by comparing data generated by the module 80with preexisting data corresponding to the receiving vehicle, asexplained above with regards to module 28.

A visual representation of the fill level of the grain bin allows theoperator to see whether or not the receiving vehicle is full and toestimate how much time is required to completely fill the receiving thevehicle. A visual representation of the distribution of crop in thegrain bin allows the operator to see which portions of the grain bin arefull and to adjust the position of the receiving vehicle relative to theunload conveyor 22 of the harvester 10 to fill portions of the grain binwith less grain.

The fill level and distribution of the grain are also presented to theoperator via the graphical user interface via an image such as thatdepicted in FIG. 19. The straight line 96 depicts the fill level of thegrain bin 38 if the grain in the bin were evenly distributed. The curvedline 98 depicts the distribution of the grain enabling the operator toadjust the position of the grain bin 38 relative to the unload conveyor22 to fill areas of the grain bin where the level of the grain is lower.

In the embodiments described above the harvester is a combine harvester.The harvester may also be a forage harvester, such as the self-propelledforage harvester 100 illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 21. The forageharvester 100 is supported by front 102 and rear 104 wheels. The forageharvester 100 connects to a header 106 suitable for harvesting maize,but may also be equipped with a windrow pick-up header or other type ofheader. The header 106 is provided for severing or picking up the cropoff the ground and directing it to a series of feed rollers 108 thatcompact the raw crop material and advance it to one or more choppingdrums 110. The chopped crop material follows a drum floor 112 to rollercrackers 114 that crack grain kernels. From there the processed cropmaterial is blown by a discharge blower 116 through a discharge chute118 into a receiving vehicle, such as a silage wagon 120 pulled by atractor 122. As used herein, the feed rollers 108, chopping drums 110and roller crackers 114 constitute a crop processor that takes raw cropmaterial (plants or portions of plants cut or picked up from the field)and reduce the raw crop material to processed crop material (choppedplant matter). Furthermore, the discharge chute 118 is a type of unloadconveyor as used herein.

In operation the forage harvester 100 advances through a field cuttingthe crop 124 standing in the field and processes the crop as explainedabove. The processed crop is transferred from the forage harvester 100to the wagon 120 by way of the discharge chute 118. A stream ofprocessed crop 126 is blown through the chute 188 into the wagon 120.The tractor 122 and wagon 120 follow the forage harvester 100 throughthe field.

The forage harvester 100 includes an onboard electronic system withsimilar components and architecture to the system 42 described aboveincluding a controller, position determining device, user interface,sensors, actuators, storage components, input/output ports, acommunications gate, an electromagnetic detecting and ranging module 128and a camera 130. The module 128 and camera 130 may function in asimilar or identical manner to the module 28 and camera 32 describedabove, along with one or more computing devices, to detect and track alocation of a receiving vehicle (such as the wagon 120) and at least oneof the fill level and content distribution of crop material within thereceiving vehicle. The data collected by the module 128 and the camera130 is used to generate a graphical representation of the unloadconveyor 116 of the harvester 100 and the receiving vehicle that ispresented to an operator of either the harvester 100 or the tractor 122by way of a graphical user interface as explained above. Alternativelyor additionally, the data collected by the module 128 and camera 130 maybe used to generate guidance data used by at least one of the harvester100 and the receiving vehicle to automatically guide at least one of thevehicles to maintain proper alignment of the unload conveyor 116 withthe receiving vehicle.

As used herein, an “unload operation” includes transferring processedcrop from a forage harvester to a silage wagon as illustrated in FIG.21, and “grain cart” and “grain bin” include silage wagon and the bin ofa silage wagon.

A schematic diagram of certain components of a portable electronicdevice 200 is illustrated in FIG. 22 and includes one or more computerprocessors 202, one or more memory and storage components 204, memoryand storage controller circuitry 206, peripheral interface circuitry 208and other hardware/circuitry 210 associated with user interface(s) (forexample, a graphical user interface), input/output, sensors andcommunications (for example, wireless or wired network communications).The memory and storage component 204 stores computer software executableby the processor(s) 202, such as an operating system and applications,as well as data. The memory and storage controller 206 controls accessto and communication with the memory 204 by the processor(s) 202 and theperipheral interface 208. When a software application is installed orrun on the portable electronic device 200 the executable computerinstructions, as well as the data, associated with the app are stored inthe storage and memory components and executed by the processor(s). Theprocessor(s) 202, the peripheral interface 208 and/or the hardware andcircuitry 210 associated with the interface, I/O, sensors andcommunications enable a human-machine interface such as a touchscreenthrough which a user interacts with the device. The processor(s) 202,the peripheral interface 208 and/or the hardware and circuitry 210associated with the interface, I/O, sensors and communications alsoenable communications with an external communications or computernetwork or with an external machine, such as the harvester 10.

Although the invention has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it isnoted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made hereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention as recited in theclaims.

The claims at the end of this patent application are not intended to beconstrued under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless traditionalmeans-plus-function language is expressly recited, such as “means for”or “step for” language being explicitly recited in the claim(s).

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, what isclaimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includesthe following:

1. A system comprising: an agricultural harvester including— a cropprocessor for reducing crop material to processed crop, an unloadconveyor for transferring a stream of processed crop out of theagricultural harvester, an electromagnetic detecting and ranging modulefor detecting the location of an object relative to the agriculturalharvester, and a camera for capturing images of an area within a fieldof view of the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module andgenerating image data; and one or more computing devices for— receivingfirst data from the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module, thefirst data indicating the location of an object relative to theagricultural harvester, receiving image data from the camera, using theimage data to determine whether the object is a receiving vehicle, andif the object is a receiving vehicle, generating automated navigationdata based on the first data and the image data, the automatednavigation data to automatically control operation of at least one ofthe agricultural harvester and the receiving vehicle to align the unloadconveyor with a grain bin of the receiving vehicle.
 2. The system as setforth in claim 1, the electromagnetic detecting and ranging moduleperforming a two-dimensional scan.
 3. The system as set forth in claim1, the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module performing athree-dimensional scan.
 4. The system as set forth in claim 1, theagricultural harvester further comprising a second electromagneticdetecting and ranging module for detecting at least one of a fill leveland a distribution of crop in the receiving vehicle; the one or morecomputing devices further configured to— receive second data from thesecond electromagnetic detecting and ranging module, the second dataindicating at least one of a fill level and a distribution of crop inthe grain bin of the receiving vehicle, and if the vehicle is areceiving vehicle, generate the automated navigation data based on thefirst data, the second data and the image data.
 5. The system as setforth in claim 4, the second electromagnetic detecting and rangingmodule performing a two-dimensional scan.
 6. The system as set forth inclaim 4, the second electromagnetic detecting and ranging module beingplaced at an end of the unload conveyor distal a body of theagricultural harvester.
 7. The system as set forth in claim 4, the oneor more computing devices further configured to generate the automatednavigation signals so that the unload conveyor is aligned with a portionof the receiving vehicle where a crop level in the grain bin of thereceiving vehicle is lowest.
 8. The system as set forth in claim 1, theelectromagnetic detecting and ranging module including a light detectingand ranging (LiDAR) module.
 9. The system as set forth in claim 1, theelectromagnetic detecting and ranging module including a radio detectingand ranging (RADAR) module.
 10. The system as set forth in claim 1, theelectromagnetic detecting and ranging module being placed on a top of anoperator cabin of the agricultural harvester.
 11. The system as setforth in claim 1, the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module beingplaced on a side of a body of the agricultural harvester with a field ofview to a side of the agricultural harvester.
 12. The system as setforth in claim 11, the camera being placed on the side of the body ofthe agricultural harvester such that a field of view of the camera atleast partially overlaps the field of view of the electromagneticdetecting and ranging module.
 13. The system as set forth in claim 1,the one or more computing devices further configured to— use the firstdata to determine whether there is an object present in the field ofview of the electromagnetic detecting and ranging device with at leastone characteristic of a receiving vehicle; and only if there is anobject present in the field of view of the electromagnetic detecting andranging device with at least one characteristic of a receiving vehicle—use the image data to determine whether the object is a receivingvehicle, and if the object is a receiving vehicle, generate theautomated navigation data.
 14. The system as set forth in claim 1, theone or more computing devices configured to use the image data todetermine whether the object is a receiving vehicle by comparing theimage to a plurality of preexisting images and identifying similaritiesbetween the image data and at least one of the plurality of preexistingimages.
 15. A method comprising: detecting a location of an objectrelative to an agricultural harvester using an electromagnetic detectingand ranging module on the agricultural harvester; capturing images of anarea within a field of view of the electromagnetic detecting and rangingmodule using a camera on the agricultural harvester and generating imagedata; receiving, using one or more computing devices, first data fromthe electromagnetic detecting and ranging module, the first dataindicating the location of an object relative to the agriculturalharvester; receiving, using the one or more computing devices, imagedata from the camera; processing, using the one or more computingdevices, the image data to determine whether the object is a receivingvehicle; and if the object is a receiving vehicle generating, using theone or more computing devices, automated navigation data based on thefirst data and the image data, the automated navigation data toautomatically control operation of at least one of the agriculturalharvester and the receiving vehicle to align the unload conveyor with agrain bin of the receiving vehicle.
 16. The method as set forth in claim15, detecting at least one of a fill level and a distribution of crop inthe receiving vehicle using a second electromagnetic detecting andranging module; receiving, using the one or more computing devices,second data from the second electromagnetic detecting and rangingmodule, the second data indicating at least one of a fill level and adistribution of crop in the grain bin of the receiving vehicle; andusing the one or more computing devices to generate the automatednavigation data based on the first data, the second data and the imagedata.
 17. The method as set forth in claim 15, further comprisinggenerating, using the one or more computing devices, the automatednavigation signals so that the unload conveyor is aligned with a portionof the receiving vehicle where a crop level in the grain bin of thereceiving vehicle is lowest.
 18. The method as set forth in claim 15,further comprising: determining, using the first data and the one ormore computing devices, whether there is an object present in the fieldof view of the electromagnetic detecting and ranging module with atleast one characteristic of a receiving vehicle; and only if there is anobject present in the field of view of the electromagnetic detecting andranging module with at least one characteristic of a receiving vehicle,using the one or more computing devices to— use the image data todetermine whether the object is a receiving vehicle, and if the objectis a receiving vehicle, generate the automated navigation data.
 19. Themethod as set forth in claim 15, the electromagnetic detecting andranging module including a light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) module.20. The method as set forth in claim 15, the electromagnetic detectingand ranging module including a radio detecting and ranging (RADAR)module.